A book reviewer for 11 years, McGrory earned a national reputation in 1954 for her coverage of the McCarthy hearings for the Washington Star newspaper. She became a national columnist in 1960. Her commentary on the Kennedy assassination in 1963 made her one of the best-known print journalists in the country. She has maintained her reputation as a leading liberal voice. Syndicated through Universal Press Syndicate, McGrory has been a Washington Post columnist since 1981. McGrory won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1975 for her coverage of the Watergate scandal.